Stanford finds new QB during blowout win in Colorado

In the second quarter of Stanford’s 48-0 rout of the Colorado Buffaloes Saturday, the Josh Nunes era gave way to the Kevin Hogan era.

Nunes played well enough to get the No. 15 Cardinal to 6-2 coming into Saturday, but the team’s success was predicated more on a solid running game and stout defense than it was their passing game. When coach David Shaw was asked midweek if it was possible for Hogan to take over the starting job, he responded that ”anything is possible.”

That wasn’t an empty threat. Nunes was only 3-of-5 for 23 yards in the first quarter and the offense was nearly immobile in the process, managing only one first down. Hogan took over on Stanford’s third possession and he never reclaimed his spot on the bench.

Night and day

Stanford was up by seven when Hogan stepped in, but those points came on an Ed Reynolds pick-6. The offense didn’t score once with Nunes in the game; Hogan stepped in, and they moved 40 yards down the field, scoring on his third play.

In fact, Stanford scored on Hogan’s first six drives – five of those scores being touchdowns, two through the air. He finished 18-of-23 for 184 yards with those two touchdowns, adding seven carries for 48 yards rushing. Those numbers were better than Nunes accomplished against San Jose State, Washington, Notre Dame and Washington State, and Hogan did it in only two quarters. Although his success did come at the hands of Colorado – the nation’s worst defense – Nunes was inept against the same squad to open the game.

Getting to know Stanford’s future

Recruited by Jim Harbaugh in June of 2010, Hogan was a highly touted prospect coming out of Gonzaga High School in Washington DC. At 6’4” 225, Hogan uses his size to his advantage: he is a physical runner and he showed it against the Buffaloes, particularly on a 27-yard scamper in the third quarter.

He is a sophomore, so Nunes may have just been a temporary bridge between Andrew Luck and Hogan. Now Stanford will trudge into their most difficult two-game stretch to end the season, hosting Oregon State and then travelling to Eugene to play No. 2 Oregon. Both games are monumentally important, and they’ll be trusting a redshirt freshman to lead them to a shot at a Pac-12 championship and beyond. It’s a risky move, but if he keeps mistakes to a minimum, Stepfan Taylor and the defense could carry Hogan and the Cardinal to a fantastic 2012 outcome.

Speaking of the defense…

…they have been unbelievable in the last few games. They held Washington State to -16 yards on The Farm last Saturday, and this past Saturday they didn’t let Colorado gain the length of the football field. That’s not even an exaggeration: the Buffaloes only gained 76 yards in total; they passed for 97 yards but lost 21 yards on the ground. That’s right – opponents have rushed for negative-37 yards over the past two weeks.

– Reynolds has taken three interceptions to the house, and now leads the country in interception return yardage, per @KyleBonagura.

Rose Bowl hopes on the line

After destroying the lowly Buffaloes, the No. 11 Oregon State Beavers will present a much tougher test when they invade The Farm on Saturday. The Cardinal’s Rose Bowl hopes start and end with this game. If Stanford wins, another victory against Oregon and a Beaver loss to the Ducks could put them in position; if they lose, their sights will officially be set on a different bowl game.

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Ruthless Sports Guy (otherwise known as Kyle McLorg) has many hobbies: cheering on the 49ers at Candlestick, keeping his dog (half-wolf) out of trouble at the dog park or yelling at his TV during Sharks and Giants games. You can find more of RSG's writing at Ruthless Sports. Follow him on Twitter @Ruthless_Sports.

With the amount of trouble OSU has at QB right now (with Vaz sorta-kinda the starter and Mannion really not healthy), the Cardinal should dispatch the Beavers as long as they can contain the big plays from the Beaver's skill positions. If Stanford can control the tempo of the game, I don't see them falling at home.

Thanks! My guess is that the spread will be Oregon by around 8 or 10. Do I see them upsetting the Ducks? No, but anything is possible. The key at this point is beating Oregon State and getting past them in the PAC-12 standings.

I'm a Stanford fan and RSG's reporting on Stanford Football is excellent. I like Stanford's chances against the Beavers, the 5.5 betting line favors Stanford and that seems about right.
BUT, I can't for the life of me imagine any way under the sun that Stanford could beat Oregon up in Eugene in 2 weeks. I am haunted by memories of the last couple years with Oregon running down the field against them, scoring at will. And that was when Stanford had a far better offense and had a chance to keep up with the Oregon scoring.
Anyone think Stanford has a prayer against Oregon.? What will the spread be?

Stanford absolutely has a prayer against Oregon, but it will be tough since the game is at Autzen. Taylor and the offensive line will have to be near perfect, but they can run the ball on Oregon's D-line just as well as USC did last week. The difference is the Cardinal don't have as much talent at the WR position, so Nunes/Hogan will have to play the game of their life against the Ducks, which is tough on the road.
My guess is the spread will actually be around 12 -- Oregon's spreads have been pretty high all year.

Well, I hop you're right but I don't think it's the Stanford offense that will be the problem, it's the defense. I'm still shell shocked by the past couple of years watching the faster Oregon offense spreading the field and whizzing past Stanford defenders. If Washington could do it against the Cardinal this year, hard to imagine that Oregon won't.
Oregon's offense has been overwhelming this year and getting better. Against USC they had 600 yards of offense by the third quarter, didn't notice what the final number was.
So, I've convinced myself the spread should be more than 12. I'll still be rooting for the Cardinal but just seems like too much to hope for.

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